Surfing Through Storms
by zoetat
Summary: Why would Santa Monica be any different from the other places Percy has lived? The answer is simple. Rachel and Annabeth tend to unintentionally toy with his emotions causing drama to hit Santa Monica pier.
1. Chapter 1

Percy's POV

It wasn't that I was nervous to go to another school. I had done it seven other times. It didn't even phase me now. Santa Monica High School was just another high school I would be at until my mom and step dad decided to up and move again. Or so I thought…

You see, my step dad Paul has this weird job where he gets moved all around. I don't even know what he does; something in construction or engineering maybe… anyways, his boss let him choose where he would relocate to. My mom and him decided for an early birthday present, I could pick. I have always loved the water, more specifically the ocean and I've always wanted to learn to surf. So I chose Santa Monica, California, a nice city right on the coast, Paul even bought a house on the beach. Sadly, we wouldn't move in until a week before my junior year so I never even got a chance to explore or meet any of the other kids my age. All I had time for was unpacking, getting ready for and touring the school.

Today was the first day and I was doing pretty well… until I hit Latin. There was this girl. Ok, I know how cheesy that sounds, but this girl is different. She had her dirty blonde hair pulled up in a loose pony tail, framing her face perfectly and accentuating her stormy, gray eyes. She was tall and athletic, wearing tan shorts and an orange t-shirt with a purple backpack slung across her shoulder that had a worn out Yankees cap strapped on to it. She was mesmerizing. And way out of my league. She took a seat in the middle row, by the windows and on the opposite side of the room from me. Nobody sat down next to her or said hi. I wondered if she was new too. I made a rash move. I picked up all my stuff and asked her if the seat was open. She looked at me. And I mean like right at me. In the eyes. And her velvety voice drifted up saying one sharp word. No. And that was it. She snapped her head back around and didn't acknowledge me after I sat. I plopped my stuff down and made a face at her, all she did was pull a book out of her bag and start reading. I searched my bag for a pencil (I found one, but I just wanted an excuse to talk to her… whoops?) "Excuse me?" I tapped her on the shoulder… "Uh… I'm sorry I don't know your name…" Her stormy eyes peeled away from her book, "My name's Annabeth and here." I took the pencil and smiled at her, "Thanks, Annabeth! What book are you reading?"

"A book," she replied and went back to reading. "Are you new here?" No reply. "That's cool. I'm not from around here, I moved here a week ago. Maybe you could show me around, or we could explore together?" That got her attention, she looked at me, smiled, laughed and shook her head, then went back to reading. "Cool! I'm going to take that as a yes then! What do you think about today after school?" Then the bell rang, she never had a chance to answer.

Our lovely teacher, Mrs. Dodds walked in. To be completely honest, she reminded me of Jabba the Hut in a tight leather jacket. She was enough to give a toddler nightmares. She seemed pretty useless though. All she did was make us go over the syllabus, then told us about the project that was going to be due at the end of the week about Roman Gods. She had already picked our partners. I just leaned back and relaxed, this made my job easier considering I didn't know anybody. She rattled off a few names like Charlie, Silena, Clarisse and Chris. Then she said Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth looked around and my heart did a little back flip in my chest. "Heyyy partner!" I smirked. She nodded and replied with, "After school, right?" I nodded, smiling like an imp. This was awesome. She gave me a disapproving look then went back to focusing on Jabba the Hut: biker edition.

And that was Latin. After the bell rang, I had lunch. I packed a lunch, already knowing that my best bet was getting a table and having whoever asked to join me, join me. A scrawny looking kid with a goatee was the one to ask. I said of course and we had a nice conversation. We even swapped numbers. I made a friend. His name was Grover and it was his first year here at Santa Monica High. He was from Long Island, New York and his parents sent him here so he could "experience new things!" While we were talking my gaze wandered across the cafeteria to where a blonde ponytail bounced with a tray full of food next to a frizzy red head who had a smile that could light up a room. "Wow… Those two must be real heartbreakers…" I thought out loud. Grover gave me _the_ weirdest expression ever. "Look over there…" I responded dreamily while pointing in their direction. He nodded still giving me a quizzical look. "Okkkaayy…" he finally said, "well there are two more minutes left of lunch so I'll see you tomorrow!"

"See ya!" I shot back. I picked up my bag and made my way to gym.

Turns out, I have no classes with the bright redhead, but gym was still fun! I wasn't picked last for soccer and I was on the dominating team. We played outside in the 90 degree humidity and I was absolutely drenched in my own sweat. _Awesome, _I thought, _just how I want to see Annabeth. _To top it off… the showers were broken. I just changed and waited for the bell to ring so I could see her.

Annabeth's POV

The boy in my Latin class. I couldn't tell if he was friendly or irritating; cocky or confident. But he _was_ attractive. His eyes were like the sea and his dark hair was styled, but shaggy, he certainly was athletic and taller than me and he was already perfectly tanned for only being here for a week. He was rather straightforward though. I didn't know if I should be scared or excited for after school.

Even though I was unsure, Rachel was definitely excited for me. At lunch she saw him and almost pulled my arm off. "A, he's looking at you! Oh my god! Look at him! Do you see him? You're not looookkkkinnnggg!" she squealed after I pointed him out. When we got to the table she elbowed me and announced, "Annabeth's got a hottieee!" I rolled my eyes along with everybody else at my table, knowing how boy crazy she was. Last year, she had thought Octavian was a 'hottieee'. Octavian is this blonde, pudgy kid that carries around beanie babies still. Like c'mon, seriously? You're 17! It's time to grow up! Rachel's credibility wasn't very high with anybody, but she was my best friend. "C'mon A, stop day dreaming about McHottie cuz we should head to Trig!"

All through Trig I anticipated after school. It was too hard to forget about it with Rachel giving me sly looks every two minutes and passing notes saying 'You better tell me everything!' I had almost chewed my nails to the quick. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Could the seconds go any slower? Do I really want them to speed up? I hated not knowing my emotions. The bell rang. I jumped out of my seat. I could hear Rachel giggling in the background.


	2. Chapter 2

_The bell rang. I jumped out of my seat. I could hear Rachel giggling in the background._

Percy's POV

I scanned the school's front yard, looking for a head of dirty blonde hair. I saw her, talking to the red head, she was ranting about some unknown topic. One of her hands on her hip, drawing attention to her confident stance, while her other moved with the conversation. I zig-zagged through the mass of students, trying to reach her. "Hey Annabeth!" She gave me a haughty sniff while the redhead looked at me then Annabeth, then back to me again. "Oh. Rachel, Percy. Percy, Rachel," It looked like she couldn't give a damn. I don't know why, but it stung. "Hi Percy! Where are you from?" Rachel said bubbly. I immediately liked her. "Everywhere!" It wasn't a complete exaggeration, I'd lived everywhere from Texas to Massachusetts, capital cities to obscurely named small towns. "That's awesome! Well I'll catch you guys later!" She waved, giving Annabeth a sly look. "She seems pretty cool!" I mentioned, after an awkward silence. "Ya, she is, she's my best friend." She answered in a tone that made me nervous to challenge her. "So… Um, what's the plan?"

"The library is about 20 minutes away so why don't we head there, they have computers, too," she turned on her heel and started, on what I assumed to be, the path to the library.

Annabeth's POV

Boys. I wish Rachel was in our class so I could have asked Gardner for a group of three. She would have known what to do in this situation. She could make it less awkward and more fun. I don't even know what to do around boys. To be completely honest, I've never even had a boyfriend before and all the friends I have are because of Rachel… What if I just focus on the project? Take charge and make a list and divide and conquer? Hopefully I won't have to talk to him too much then… But I kinda wanna talk to him too though… Boys.

We were about two minutes away from the library and I just realized that he was struggling to keep up with me. I slowed my pace and waited. "Hi," he huffed obviously winded. Resisting the urge to giggle, I gave him a smirk and broke out into a run. I peered behind my shoulder, only to see him roll his eyes, shake his head and start jogging. "I came from gym class you know!" he screamed across the sidewalk. I laughed as I reached the steps leading up to this great building. "I see how it is," he said while skidding to a stop, "I call for a rematch when we head home!" I rolled my eyes.

"Let's divide and conquer, I'll take computers and you take the books. All we have to decide is what Gods we are doing it on," I explained to him. Personally I wanted to do Minerva and Neptune.

"I'll do whatever!" he answered eagerly.

"Awesome! Do you think you could find stuff on Minerva and Neptune on the shelves?" He responded with a nod. "Cool, so let's get started?"

"Yep!" And he opened the door and held it for me to walk through, "Ladies first," he exclaimed with a wink. Not gonna lie… my icy core melted a little bit. I debated whether or not to tell Rachel. She would want to know but then she would make a bigger deal out of it then need be. Was I making it a bigger deal than it needed to be? _Dammit Annabeth, just focus on the project!_ Trying to keep my cool, I flashed him a smile and replied with a simple thanks.

Percy's POV

I freaked her out. I know I did. I shouldn't have done that. I should not have done that. I'm so done. _Just breathe, Percy, breathe. _I focused on the project. Reading. One of my favorite things. *inserts sarcastic tone here* Step one: find the mythology section, step two: don't let on that I suck at this, step three: I don't even know… Between the stress of having to read and Annabeth, everything was a giant mess in my brain, seemingly impossible to unscramble.

Mythology section. Found it. I had always found the Greek and Roman Gods interesting. How could people worship so many Gods? Or how they used them all to explain everything. It was just fascinating. I took a stack of books from the shelf and made a spot on the floor and attempted to locate facts on Minerva and Neptune.

Within five minutes I was dying. I couldn't look at the page. The letters danced around, never finding a permanent place to rest. I debated telling Annabeth about my dyslexia. Where was she anyway? I stood up and stretched my legs and searched the room for her. With no luck, I decided to take another crack at reading. I got no farther than staring and rubbing my temples. I decided to bring the books to her.

Annabeth's POV

My first thought was that he looked stressed. The next was that he looked extremely attractive. _Project, focus on the project_. "What time is it? He asked groggily.

"It's 4:30, we've been here for about two hours," He did that sleepy-boy thing where they yawn and stretch. "What have you found?" he questioned. I handed him three pages of hand written notes in response. "Holy…" he trailed off.

"How about you?" I asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh… umm… look, I'm really sorry you got stuck with me. I'm extremely dyslexic and nothing makes sense and it all just –" I cut him off and laughed. He blushed and wouldn't meet my eyes, his body language said that he hated me. "I understand," I attempted to explain, "I'm dyslexic, too."

"What? How?!" Obviously flustered, he struggled to make sense of it all.

"I don't know… to be completely honest I like using the computer cuz you can zoom in on a small chunk of words and hand write it… I don't understand it and try not to pretend like I do but ya… you don't need to apologize, I get you 110%"

"Wow…" he half smiled at me, obviously relieved that he wasn't alone.

We decided that the best way to get the project done was to work together. Not going to lie, I was kind of happy about it. Percy turned out to be really funny and sweet. I found out that his step dad's job was why he had lived in so many different places. He didn't mind it too much though, he said that he liked adventure and exploring and he always met people through sports. He swam. He wanted to try surfing. His favorite color was blue, and he chose to move here. His family also has a pink poodle… In return I told him that I have lived in Santa Monica my entire life, I played volleyball and I have two stepbrothers. I never thought we would have something in common, and even though it was small, it helped make us fast friends.

I yawned, we had completely lost track of time. "Holy shit!"

"What?" he seemed worried.

"It's 6:30!"

"Hmm… Do you wanna grab a bite to eat?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: This is the first time I've ever written one of these. It feels weird xD. Microsoft Word stopped working! Oiefoirhorwgh It was awful! I'm so sorry!**

"_Hmm… Do you wanna grab a bite to eat?" _

Annabeth's POV

I couldn't breathe_. Did he…? He did…_ He just stared at me with those sea green eyes, waiting for an answer. _Dammit, Annabeth! You need to answer!_ "Sure!"

His face lit up like a Christmas tree. "I saw this deli down the street… do you wanna try it?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

Awkwaaarrrdddd. It's the only way I can describe the eight minute walk to the Italian Deli and Bakery. There was almost no talking, just complete silence the whole way there. I didn't even know what this was. _Was it a date? Was it just two friends getting food? Could we even be classified-_

He cleared his throat, interrupting my train of thought, "So… When's this project due?"

"I have no idea…"

"Oh, well… maybe we should get together tomorrow to finish it," he paused, "You know, just to be safe" he quickly stammered out.

"That'd be awesome!" I replied as we opened the door to the deli. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I smelled the fresh bread. My stomach made a dying whale noise. _Awesome…_ Percy laughed and glanced down at me through his dark mop of hair. He motioned me to the stools at the counter. "What are you gonna get?" he looked at me expectantly.

Percy's POV

An order of French fries and an Olive Oil, which is their version of a meatball grinder. I was afraid she was going to be one of those girls that counted calories and didn't want to actually eat in front of a guy. I hate girls like that. Annabeth, I don't know how to explain it, but she seems real. That sounds so creepy considering I've only known her for a day, but she does.

Once our food came, we sat in silence. It wasn't awkward like on the walk here. It was comfortable. Eventually, I asked her about volleyball. She's an outside hitter, even though she's five feet seven inches; which is apparently short for a volleyball player. She made varsity her freshman year, too. I asked if it would be okay if I came to one of her games.

She blushed and nodded but wouldn't meet my eye.

Her bangs fell in front of her eyes.

I leaned forward and brushed her princess curls back behind her ear.

Her eyes met mine.

I slid her pencil behind her ear.

I took every ounce of my being to not close the two inch gap between us

I pulled back abruptly, like when your head gets slammed against the seat when a roller coaster starts. I looked down at my shaking hands. _Why did I pull away? What were we? Just two people hanging out? Friends? I don't even know… I've only known her for a day._

Slowly, I glanced up at Annabeth, careful not to meet her gaze.

Blood was rushing up her neck and spreading over her cheeks, making her look like she had just sprint a mile without stopping.

I cleared my throat.

"Umm… Thanks for a… letting me borrow your pencil." I kept my head down. I think she mumbled a "ya… no problem" but I couldn't quite tell through her curtain of hair.

Gradually, she pulled her head up and chanced looking into my eyes. "I should probably… umm, call my dad."

"Oh, ya… ok," _it would make sense _I reassured myself, it was getting late.

My alarm went off at 4:30, bright and early. I jumped out of bed and put on my bathing suit, making my way towards the garage to grab my surf board. I always did my best thinking when I was near water.

The stars still speckled the complexion of navy blue while the moon burned its reflection into the sea. Sand flew like blowback from a gun as my feet kicked up the grains behind me. When the ground beneath my feet went from smooth and dry to gritty and wet, I sped up. Without hesitating, I slammed forcefully into a retracting wave, the briny water making the strands of my hair stick together. The initial jolt of frigid water shocked me before familiarity took place. I grinned. This is where I belonged. I paddled out farther into the ocean and just waited.

Something about the crashing of the waves and the caw of the gulls is so peaceful. It's where my head is clear and my best thinking is done. Mental list.

Things that need to be thought about:

Annabeth

Things that I have no clue what to do about:

Annabeth

_You haven't even been at this school for two days and you're already worried about girls. What if you just kinda swear off girls for now? Swear off being a loose term right? Let's do that. I'll just think about school and grades *snorts* Friends. I'll think about friends. And who says Annabeth and I can't be friends?_

Feeling slightly accomplished with my mental conversation, I paddled straight into an oncoming wave and rode it straight to shore.

**I think we have accomplished that I suck at creating angst xD I'm very sorry. I'm also sorry that my intro to surfing was so sucky... I'd also like to apologize one more time for taking so long to update! Word wouldn't load... I'll try to update again ASAP!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Guys I'm so excited! 24 followers and 13 favorites! I never thought I'd get more than 10! Is there anything that y'all would want to see in the next chapters? Your feedback is honestly so helpful! **

Percy's POV

"Dude…" Grover snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Percy? Helllooooo?"

I shook my head and looked at him. The way she pulled her hair back into her ponytail. How her face lit up when she laughed. The sway in her hips when she walked. Her personality. She was mesmerizing. And she was sitting right across from me.

Grover rolled his eyes and laughed. He knew exactly what I was thinking about. "Sorry…" I mumbled.

"Sureeee," he smirked at me. "Did you hear what Annabeth said?"

I turned to Annabeth, "What was it?"

"My first home game is today. Rachel's going… and I think Grover," She looked at him expectantly to which he gave her a reassuring nod. "So do you wanna come?"

My heart did a double take. I wanted to scream yes but my brain was trying to tell me to play it cool and not look like a complete idiot in front of her. "Ya, of course!"

"Awesome!" She exclaimed while brushing stray hairs behind her ear. "So Percy, are you ready for the presentation next block?"

"Obviously!" I laughed, we had been working on it almost every day at the library. We had almost made a silent agreement to not talk about what happened on the first day. Honestly… I wish I could just forget what happened. At least we can be friends.

The bell rang signifying that lunch was over and we had to get to our next class. The schedule rotation was weird at first but now I had gotten the hang of it. Annabeth and I walked to Latin together. It was hard to ignore the stares that were coming our way. Eyes seemed to follow us everywhere we went. Between the mysterious glances and ludicrous whispering, it felt like the movies. Like when the really nerdy girl comes back from summer vacation and is a total dream boat. The atmosphere was a mixture between lust and envy. There is no way Annabeth didn't notice it. No matter what she still held her head high. I followed her lead but I let a smirk creep onto my face.

Taking our stationary seats by the window, we waited for Mrs. Dodds to call our names. Time ticked by until it was only us left. Annabeth was obviously a perfectionist. She had me practice our presentation until I didn't need notecards. Our poster was completely symmetrical with each fact typed and backed in a piece of construction paper. Minerva was done with pink and Neptune was blue. We were to alternate who said which fact with Annabeth starting. I felt like I had pulled my weight and I was proud of what we had done.

Thankfully the presentation was flawless. No mess ups from me! I never expected any from Annabeth, it just wasn't her style. There was still time to spare in the class so Mrs. Doods, who could never allow us a moment of rest, gave us a worksheet. Once the bell rung we quickly packed up, talking excitedly about how well the presentation went.

"Miss Chase and Mr. Jackson, I'd like to see you," requested Mrs. Dodds

Annabeth's smile fell. Mrs. Dodds hated me; she had made that clear. Every time I moved or even breathed, at least that's what it felt like, she would threaten me with a detention. I pursed my lips and gave Annabeth a small nod. "Yes m'am?" I inquired, turning to look at her.

"I don't believe that you evenly distributed the work on this project," her dark, beady eyes directed towards me.

"What?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Perseus Jackson," I cringed, I hated when people used my full name, "What are the Greek equivalents to Minerva and Neptune?"

"Athena and Poseidon… except Athena's more focused on wisdom," I turned to Annabeth and kinda shrugged my shoulders. She gave me an encouraging smile. Dodds nodded slowly.

"What was Minerva's other name?"

I remembered Annabeth telling me this one, "Pallas."

"Who's her father?"

"Jupiter, it was said that she was born from his head…"

"What is Neptune's symbol?"

"A trident."

"What were the festivities in his honor called?"

"Ummm…" I knew we had decided that this wasn't important to put on the poster. We had went over it. "Oh! Neptunalia!"

"Very well, you may leave."

We were out of there as quickly as possible.

"What the hell was that?!" I turned to Annabth and started to laugh.

"Percy!" She whined and smacked my arm. "It's not funny!" But she was smiling. I smiled at her and continued to laugh and before we knew it we were doubled over in the middle of the hallway. Slowly I got up and wiped the tears from my eyes. "C'mon we gotta get to your game!" I said sticking my hand out. She took it and we ran to the gym.

Annabeth's POV

All I've heard about the past couple days is Percy this and Percy that. Rachel had maybe talked to him once or twice at lunch and she might as well have been in love. Most of the time I just nodded my head. I mean ya, I thought he was attractive and he was funny and nice but we've only known him for a week! It was her idea about the volleyball game. She had begged me to invite him since I was closer to him than she was. She said all she needed was a couple minutes alone with him. Part of me was torn because she was my friend and why shouldn't I give her a chance, but he was my friend… It sounds so weird, but Rachel and I had been friends for as long as I can remember and whenever we had other friends I always felt like they liked her more. And I liked Percy, I didn't want him to see Rachel as better and just stop talking to me.

Anyways, I invited Percy and Rachel and Grover to the game, getting a yes from all of them. I was excited! Like I said before Rachel and I were practically inseparable so it was nice to have others. I hoped I had a good game and that everything with Rachel and Percy worked out well. Not gonna lie I was feeling more confident after Dodd's called Percy and I out. At first I was terrified because I've never gotten in trouble; I've never had a detention, I've never gotten below an A and most teachers liked me. I was worried that Percy wouldn't have remembered all the facts because it took him forever to memorize the presentation. Sometimes he'd mash up two facts and they wouldn't even be similar. But he had remembered everything.

And now we were running down the hallway gasping for breath.

"Go kick ass!" Percy told me as he pushed me into the gym.

**A/N: I'd like to thank Impossiblesociety (a writer that I'm friends with outside of the internet) for always dealing with my constant questions because without her this story would just be olksndgsdn xD so thanks! **

**Also my two guy friends who dealt with my incredibly awkward questions about what they think when they see a pretty girls! They aren't gonna read this but I'm going to thank them anyways haha**

**One more thing! I'm sorry this is so ridiculously long, but my updates are probably gonna get far and few between because school is starting and that means volleyball after school every day for 3 hours and then a ton of homework! So I'm very sorry! **

**Anyways, **

**Thanks for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

"_Go kick ass!" Percy told me as he pushed me into the gym. _

Percy's POV

I scanned the bleachers for Grover and Rachel. They saw me first and were waving ridiculously, trying to get my attention. I never expected there to be so many people but the gym was packed. Some students had made posters to cheer on their favorite players, and some had gone as far as to paint their faces and bodies. The energy in the gym was contagious.

I smiled at my two friends. Rachel responded by grabbing my arm and pulling me down into the empty spot next to her. "Have you ever seen a volleyball game before?" she questioned me.

I just shook my head in response. Her hand was still on my arm.

"Have you ever played volleyball before?"

All I could do was shake my head.

"Not even in gym class?" she continued to pelt me with questions.

I just looked at her with a worried expression.

"Welcome to California!" Rachel began to explain to me how the entire game worked and all the positions and basically everything there was to know about the sport, but as she explained the crowd got louder and louder and she moved closer and closer. I could feel her curly red hair tickling my shoulder through my t shirt and her warm breath against my cheek as she spoke. Her hand was no longer on my arm, but resting on top of my hand. At some point, I had stopped trying to focus on the game and just focused on how close she was to me.

"Hey… uh… Guys?" Grover's nervous voice broke through the crowd. "It's game point of the fifth set… Annabeth's got serve…I didn't think you'd want to miss it."

"What's the score?" Rachel asked Grover.

"24-23, us…"

"Holy—YOU GOT IT ANNABETH!" Rachel joined the cheering.

I watched in a stunned silence as Annabeth dribbled the ball and spun it in her hands. She looked across the court as she tossed the ball up in the air. CRACK! It was sailing across the court as it hit the tape on the net. The crowd stopped cheering. The two seconds felt like forever. Not a sound was made as the ball tiptoed on the top of the net. The ball slipped. The other girl fell. The ball hit the court. A whistle was blown. And the crowd roared.

Annabeth's POV

Whether it's a playoff game or a regular season game, it's taken seriously. Our coach had prided himself in our dominating record, only losing one to two games per season and we had won our division for the past five years.

So you can just imagine the pressure.

But it went over. And it was an ace. We won the game! As my teammates congratulated me, I took deep, shaky breaths and watched the beautiful chaos unfolding around me.

Then, I got hit by a ton of bricks. More specifically, Rachel.

"Annabeth that was amazing!" she squealed and squeezed me into a constricting hug.

"Thanks, Rach! I was so nervous! I thought I was gonna shank it!"

"Annabeth!" Percy barreled towards me and wrapped me in an unexpected hug. "That was amazing! That serve was so –" He looked down at me and immediately dropped his arms and took a step back, "Your serve was really good," he repeated and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

"Thanks," I gave him a shy smile, "and thank you for coming!"

"Anytime!" he grinned. "I gotta go but I'll text you or see you Monday! Great game Annabeth! Bye everybody!" he waved at Rachel and Grover.

The gym was practically empty; the mob of students had filed out quickly and only a couple of teammates, parents, and my coach were left.

I sat on the bleachers and started to take off my knee pads and ankle braces, while my dad staggered over, obviously having a conversation with himself.

"I'll be ready in a second, dad. I'm sorry I took so long!"

"Oh honey! Don't worry about it! You were amazing!" He kissed the top of my head and ruffled my sweaty hair into an even stickier mess. I stuffed my shoes into my bag and smiled at my dad. "You ready to go, my smelly star?"

I scrunched my nose at him, and we headed to the car.

"Who was that boy?" He questioned as soon as I had gotten into the car.

"What?" I stuttered, "Who do you mean?"

"That tall, dark haired boy. He hugged you. Who was he, Annabeth?"

Percy's POV

When I got home, I went directly to the beach and just sat and did some thinking. I thought about school and how I wasn't failing any classes yet. I know it's not even the first month, but for me it's good. In fact, I didn't have a grade lower than a C. I thought about friends. I had kinda been neglecting Grover lately, I sent him a text. I thought about how many times I had been uprooted by my parents and forced to start over again every year. I know it's out of their control, but I just want more than one school year. I thought about Rachel and how she acted today at the game. I thought about Annabeth. And then I thought about how I wished I could just stop thinking.

But no matter what, my mind still wandered back to my two unanswered questions. Annabeth and Rachel.

"Hey hun," my mom sat down next to me, "How ya doing?"

"Mom, you're gonna get all sandy and gross!" I laughed.

"Percy… You know me, do you think I really care?"

I shook my head and watched the waves crash onto the shore over and over as we sat in silence.

"I need you to talk to me, Percy," I knew if she asked again, I would crack, "Are you happy here?"

"I actually love it here! I mean look at our backyard, Mom! My grades in school are the best they've ever been, I have friends… Overall I'm happy," I sighed, most of it was true.

She gave me a skeptical look, "You seem off."

"I'm just confused," I explained and continued my staring at the sea.

She leaned over and bumped my shoulder, "C'mon it's getting cold, let's go inside,"

I stood up, brushed myself off and offered her a hand.

As we walked back up to the house I couldn't help but realize how lucky I was.

**Author's Note: **

**I'm so sorry it took so long to update! My volleyball team is heading to states so we've been really busy lately and then my AP history teacher is just an ass and is about as helpful as a penguin in Kentucky. **

**Anyways! I've had an idea but I want your guys' opinion on it. So one of my friends mentioned making Annabeth's dad gay, I thought about it and it would add some major character development and it could throw in some angsty/fluffy curveballs in for Percy and Annabeth. If you guys don't like this I have a back up plan! (Which would be her parents being divorced (which was sorta gonna be the case anyways) which would still be effective just some explanations would be a bit harder) But I wouldn't care cuz I just want to make you guys happy! **

**That was really confusing I'm sorry, but if you have any questions please feel free to ask! **

**So **

**What do you guys think is gonna happen next? What do you want to happen?**

**I'll try to update ASAP! **

**Until next time, **

**Zoetat **


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: So I decided that I was gonna start replying to reviews**

**Soooo**

**To Azuphere: Thank you! **

**To the Guest: I decided to just have them be divorced!**

**I'm going to try to start updating every other week/ every week now that volleyball is over! I'll try to make the chapters a bit longer (closer to 2,000 words)! Also I know the thing that's happening in the upcoming chapter is the wrong date but I need to change it to work, I'm sorry! So there's gonna be a time skip of like two weeks**

_As we walked back up to the house, I couldn't help but realize how lucky I was._

Annabeth's POV

"MALCOM!" I stormed down the stairs, "DID YOU TOUCH MY LAPTOP?!" I hadn't been able to go up to my mom's condo recently due to volleyball, but did that mean that Malcom had to use my laptop? He had his own! I opened it up to discover most of the hard drive was taken up by a wonderful game called Minecraft. My nineteen year old brother was addicted to Minecraft. "MALCOM!" I bellowed again. "I WILL DELETE EVERYTHING!"

"Gods Annie! What is it?" He looked at me in utter shock as he pulled an earbud out.

I rolled my eyes and held up my laptop. "I. Will. Delete. Everything." I repeated.

"Aw c'mon! You hardly ever use it anyways! You're always at _his_ house…" He said the word dripping with venom. I was only nine when my parents divorced. Malcom however, hated my father with every fiber of his being and refused to be under the same roof as him. I had only heard bits and pieces about what happened; nobody would tell me the whole story. Malcom chose to live with my mom while I split the time- weekdays with Dad and weekends with Mom.

"It doesn't matter Mal! It's still mine!"

He sighed, "I never see you anymore Annie… You can't even stay the entire time!"

"It's just cuz of dad's present for me; you know I would stay if I could," I explained for the gazillionth time. My dad had agreed to let me have my party be unsupervised. I knew it seemed completely ridiculous, but my dad was extremely strict, which made this a blessing.

He stared at me in silence.

"You could always come to my party…"

He sighed. "Annabeth, it's not you."

"Please, Mal! He's not even going to be there!"

He got up from his spot at the table and gave me a hug. "Happy Birthday, Annie," he whispered. Then he sulked away to his room.

_Whatever._ I scowled; he didn't have to be there for me to have a good time. I'd have Rachel and Grover and even Piper, a new girl that had moved here from Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Plus, there would be Percy. Rachel was still obsessed with him, and that was putting it lightly. Gods, if she knew how I felt...

"Guys! I'm home!"

My mother's voice rang out from the front room.

"Hi Annabeth! Where's Malcolm?"

"I think he's in his room."

"Eh, I'll just leave him there… I've got a surprise for you!"

I stared at her in stunned silence.

"Close your mouth honey; you'll catch flies!" I did as I was told. "It's not here though… I have to drive you to it!"

"Well! Are you coming or not?" She yelled from the front door.

"Yes ma'am!"

Percy's POV

"What the hell can I get Annabeth for her birthday?" I muttered to myself, scrambling to find the list that I had made. Her party was tomorrow and I had absolutely nothing to give her.

"Why am I so stupid?!" I screamed as I kicked my bed. "Gods dammit. Now that was stupid." I continued to mumble.

"Percy?" My mom knocked on my door, "Are you okay?"

"What do I get a girl for her birthday?" I exclaimed as I flopped onto my bed.

"Ohhh… I see…" She looked at me with laughter in her eyes. "Is it a special girl?"

"Uhhh… Maybe? I don't know… I'm not sure? I mean, its Annabeth..."

She smiled. "Have you asked her what she wants?"

"I didn't want to ask her; I wanted it to be a complete surprise," I sat up and started to pace around my room. "I guess I could ask her if I had to… I know! I could talk to Rachel! Thanks mom!" I kissed her on the cheek and she continued to laugh as she left my room.

**Me to Red: ** Hey Red! I was wondering what you were getting Annabeth for her birthday? I have no clue what to get her :(

Ok, I got this. I can get Annabeth an amazing present without even having to ask her. Thank youuuuu Rachel, or Red as I had been starting to call her, for both her hair and her initials.

**Red: **I got her a headband for volleyball and a subscription to an architect magazine cuz she wants to be one when she's older!

**Me:** She'll love that! I think I know what to get her now… It's completely dorky but whatever haha

**Red:** What is it?!

**Me: **it's a surprise ;)

My gift idea for her really was dorky. It could also end up being really awkward if she didn't like it. Getting her one of her own would be out of the question but my mom and Paul had one too so it could work. Plus, if she felt like it would be too awkward one-on-one, she could invite Rachel or something. _Ya this will work,_I reassured myself, then got to work on making it.

Annabeth's POV

"Mom, where are we going?"

"Patience Annabeth," she smiled at me, "I promise it will be worth the wait!"

I tried to sit quietly, I really did. It was the anticipation. I _had _to know what the surprise was.

"Are we there yet?" I twisted in my seat only to meet the same glare I got when I asked the same question when I was eight. "Sorry…" I mumbled.

"Close your eyes; we're getting close!" she said with excitement. "No peeking! You'll wreck the surprise!"

I bounced in my seat; I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"Ok Annabeth, open your eyes!"

"Mom!" I nearly fell out of the car, "You didn't…?"

She smiled.

"Oh my Gods you did!" I ran and gave her a hug.

"We aren't quite done yet, sweetheart. You have to choose. It's a 2012 Nissan Sentra or 2007 Jeep Wrangler?"

I squealed and jumped in a circle. "Wait okay… How many miles to the gallon and miles on the car already? I'm assuming they're used, have they been in any accidents? How many owners? Which one would you pick? How expensive will it be?" I rambled.

She laughed. "I gave you the choice between these two because they were almost equivalent in everything. I would focus on practicality," She hinted.

"Ok… so, weather, the Jeep has a soft top so it should be easy to take on and off if it were to rain. Not having a top would be nice in the summer and spring when it's gorgeous out… the Nissan however, it looks so classy. Think practical." I thought aloud. "Mom, could I have the Jeep Wrangler please?"

She smiled and entered the building to sign the papers.

"Congrats, Annie." Malcolm smirked and ruffled my hair. I scrunched my nose up at him and remembered when he got his truck. He got an ancient Chevy pick-up on his sixteenth birthday; the thing probably wasn't even built in 2000. Our dad had gotten it for him in hopes of a peace offering. If it wasn't his dream car, oh Gods, he wouldn't even have unlocked the door. It's the only time I ever remember Mal not being at his throat.

"Thanks!" I giggled; I had forgotten how much I missed Malcolm. It had been so long since I had talked to him; sometimes texting just didn't cut it. "I think I'm going to see if it's possible for me to come back next weekend."

He laughed, "That would be great, Annie!" He was obviously confused about my sudden announcement.

"I for one," my mom interrupted, "would love it if you came next weekend!" she kissed the top of my head as she made her way to get ready for dinner. "Could you guys set the table please? I ordered some pizza from the diner that you like!"

"Thanks! I really can't thank you enough, Mom…"

"Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!"

"Annabeth! If you end up being late, your father is going to kill me! Get going!" My mom hollered from the bottom of the stairs.

Shit. I had slept in big time. 10:45. I was supposed to be at my dad's already. Shit. I sprinted down the stairs frantically, screaming out my goodbyes as I barreled through the door. Shit. I patted my pockets. "Forgot my keys! Bye, everybody!" The slamming of the door drowned out their replies.

I somehow managed to not get pulled over. I made a half hour ride in twenty minutes, which was just enough time for me to concoct a reasonable excuse that would explain why I was incredibly late.

I practiced my lines as walked up the driveway and towards the house. I went to open the door but it was locked. As I fumbled in my pockets, I realized what a mess I was- disheveled hair, last night's makeup and a stained t shirt and sweatpants. Couldn't forget the bright pink crocs… This would really help my case.

"Annabeth?"

"Dad!" I jumped and tried to fix my appearance.

"C'mon in please! Your mother called and told me you slept in." He was talking to me but he was focused on the new car in our driveway. I guess Mom hadn't talked to him about it. I gave him a nervous smile and walked inside.

"Er… I can explain that…" I stammered.

He waved me off, "Don't worry; I figured it out. Why don't you shower and get dressed so we can go out for breakfast? Well, probably lunch by now…" He chuckled. "Hurry up now!" he exclaimed as he pushed me up the stairs.

Percy's POV

At 10 o'clock in the morning I got a call from Mr. Chase telling me to be at his house for twelve. That was it. The conversation lasted all of thirty seconds, and seemed a little sketchy, but I had a feeling I was going to be there anyways.

_This is weird_ is all that ran through my head as I drove to Annabeth's house. Why would Mr. Chase want me there anyways? Of course that imagination part of my brain was running wild with possibility. Pictures of me being tortured flashed through my mind. "Stop being ridiculous," I said out loud. "It's just Annabeth's dad…"

Despite my "reassuring" words, I took shaky steps up to the Chase's front door.

"Gods! There you are Percy! It took you long enough!" said a voice as I was dragged through the threshold. "Everybody has been here for ages!"

"Sorry Red," I laughed, "I was-"

"No time for apologies! You're the only person that's tall enough to hang the streamers on the ceiling. See, unlike you," she sent me a very nonthreatening glare, "we all were here at noon and have been getting stuff ready for Annabeth's party… Ok, see where those balloons are? We decided to twist the gray and purple streamers together so you have to hang it loosely and then tape every time you hit a balloon. Got it? Great! C'mon! We only have until 6!"

Grover, Piper and I worked quietly as Rachel critiqued everything we did, exclaiming that it had to be perfect since it was Annabeth's 17th Birthday!

Trust me, I wanted it to be great too, but she was saying we were running out of time at two thirty.

"Rachel, where is Annabeth?" Piper asked when we had stopped to eat lunch.

"Her dad only told me that they were going out for lunch but to be ready for six," she replied in-between bites of her peanut butter and ketchup sandwich sandwich.

"The place looks awesome… I think Annabeth will love it!" Grover was trying to hint to Red that he wanted to go home. We all nodded in agreement. The first floor was decked out in gray and purple, which I found out were Annabeth's favorite colors. Balloons and streamers covered the walls but managed not to look messy. I had to give Rachel credit; the place looked amazing.

"You guys go home and get ready," Rachel rolled her eyes. "I can stay and do the finishing touches."

"I'll stay with you Rach," Piper offered.

"No… I think it will be okay," She said eyeing the room. "I only wanna add some more balloons, but just ones that have the little weight thing on the bottom… yanno what I'm talking about? That'll take me less than five minutes."

"We can stay and turn a five minute job into a few seconds, right guys?" I looked around at everybody who was now avoiding eye contact. Honestly, I couldn't really blame them… Rachel's bitch mode was completely activated and she was almost unbearable to be around; it was quite a contrast to her typical personality.

"Thanks, Perce. I just want everything to be perfect!" She sighed and gave me a tight smile.

"It's alright," I forced a laugh in a feeble attempt to ease the tension. "What do you need us to do?"

"Piper, arrange the balloons please? No more than five in a set. Grover, use the helium tank to fill the balloons. Percy and I can place the balloons around. I think we need four sets-" she paused and raked her mind. "No just kidding. I need three sets of five balloons."

Grover and Piper finished rather quickly and basically sprinted out of the house, leaving me with an indecisive Rachel. Fun!

"Just go home, Percy. This is an art," she opened her arms, dramatically gesturing to the entirety of the room. "I'll see you tonight!"

"Bye, Red!" I shouted as I closed the front door.

It was three thirty by the time I got home. _Not too bad_. I wanted to put some finishing touches on Annabeth's present so it didn't look too last minute, shower, and then get ready. I couldn't look too casual, but I couldn't look too formal. It had to be a nice mix. _Sweater? No. Polo? Nope! T shirt? Maybe… If it was a nice one. Jeans? No way I'm breaking out the eighties dad jeans. Khakis? They wouldn't be bad. Plaid shorts? No, definitely not. _

"Button down and khakis!" I thought out loud. I could unbutton the shirt and wear a white t shirt under and roll up the sleeves. Wow… I was taking this way too seriously. _Whatever…_

"MOM!" I yelled from the kitchen.

"GODS PERCY!" she yelled twice as loud back, "I was literally in the hallway… What do you need hun?"

"How does this look?" I slid the card across the table to where she was sitting. "Is it weird?"

She picked up the colored piece of paper and smiled at me. "Percy, this is adorable!"

"No." I groaned and put my head in my hands.

"What are you guys looking at?" Paul snuck up behind my mom and snatched the card from her hands.

"Oh Gods, Paul…" I wasn't fast enough to get the card back. I suppose talking to Paul about girls would be better than my mom, but we had been on our own for a long time; it just felt wrong to leave her out of my life.

"Percy, this is great, I'm sure she will love it. This is for Annabeth right?" he shared a look with my mom.

"Ya."

"My only suggestion is to change this thing up right here," He pointed to one of the drawings. "Just the lines need to be a bit cleaner."

"Thanks," I avoided looking at them so they would miss the redness of my cheeks.

_Present fixed? Check. _

_Getting Ready? I had two hours. I should probably start now… Just in case. _

I ran upstairs to my room and tossed the card onto my dresser. I had no clue how I was going to be able to give that to Annabeth without turning into a tomato. Maybe I could just leave it somewhere in her house. _Ya cuz that's not sketchy._

"What color should I wear?" I asked myself as I pulled out all my button downs. Blue, white and green plaid, solid red, red and blue plaid, I even had a purple and blue plaid. _The blue and green one with my navy blue vans though... _

Feeling happy with my choice i hopped into the shower.

I had thirty minutes to let my thoughts wander. Unfortunately for me, it only went down one path.

I thought back to the first day of school when Annabeth wouldn't even look at me. When I talked to her, all she gave me were one word answers. I remembered Rachel's kindness from day one. I remembered the feel of Rachel's hand on mine at the volleyball game, how we talked the entire time. I remembered how Annabeth stiffened up when I hugged her on that same day.

Little details like steel gray eyes, bright red ringlets, a bobbing blonde pony tail and grass green eyes mixed with laughter and smiles of the two best friends haunted my memories.

I laid numbly in my bed, confused and conflicted inside my own head. None of the pieces seemed to fit together; it felt like I was putting a Peep in the microwave and just watching it expand until it blew up and I never tried to stop the mess from happening.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. _Shit!_ It was six thirty...

**Im sorry it took so long for me to update! I didn't expect to be this busy… AP history was stressing me out a lot more than I thought. *cringe***

**This chapter was sorta a major filler but I'll be getting into "drama" in the next chapter. What'd y'all think of the dialogue… I decided to give it a shot considering I had next to none in my previous chapters. **

**Thanks to my unofficial beta impossiblesociety (y'all should read her rocking PJO oneshot) **

**I was also thinking about writing a non-AU Percy Jackson fanfic set after Blood of Olympus (with solangelo and percabeth because I'm trash but that's another story *OTP*) **

**Props to anybody that gets my reference from the Lightning Thief! **

**Anyways, what'd you guys think about this chapter? Anything you want to see? Suggestions? **

**Happy New Years! **

**Zoetat**


	7. Chapter 7

_Shit! It was six thirty…_

Annabeth's POV

I used to love birthdays.

As I walked up the front steps of my house, after having a wonderful day with my dad, I could hardly contain my excitement. I smoothed my red skirt and opened up the front door.

The scene in front of me was pure and utter chaos.

My Spotify playlist was blasting through the house. People were dancing provocatively. The smell of sweat, alcohol and greasy food mingled together in the air. The helium filled balloons were drooping and some of the streamers were hanging off of the wall.

At first I was extremely intimidated. Then I was taken aback.

Then, I realized I loved it.

A red plastic cup was put in my hand as I closed the door behind me. I looked over my living room for Rachel, Grover, Piper or Percy.

"Piper!" I shouted when I saw her.

"Hey, Annabeth! Happy Birthday! This party is amazing-"she took a swig of beer from a random cup, "This party is amazing!" she yelled again as she was pulled back to the dance floor by some tall, muscular, blonde guy.

_Well, _I thought, _I guess Piper is having fun. _

I continued walking through my house, scanning for one pair of particular green eyes.

"Annabeth!" Rachel called to me and tackled me in a hug. "Heyyyy," she drew out her words, "Have you seen Percy?"

I shook my head.

She pouted, "Can you tell him I'm looking for him when you find him? Oh, and happy birthday!" She ran off to gods know where.

I shook my head and decided to just have fun an enjoy myself, I took a sip from the cup I was handed when I first walked through the door. I made a face. _It's so bitter_ I thought to myself wondering how people were able to drink it.

The music was still blaring, my house was filled with sweaty bodies grinding up against each other, people with alcohol tainted breath talking and making out in the corners. I heard the doorbell ring and I tried to shuffle my way through the crowd, taking a sip from my cup.

"Hey," Percy said rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm sorry I'm so late-"

I cut him off and smiled, "No it's ok! It's kind of a mess anyways…" I laughed.

"Um…" he shuffled awkwardly, "Here's your present."

I opened up the card and tried to hold back the smile tugging at my lips. _He's such a dork_ I thought to myself. I wrapped my arms around his neck and said thank you. Tentatively he put his arms around my waist and I felt his shoulders relax as he smiled into my hair.

"Here, why don't you come inside?" I asked him, reluctantly leaving his warm embrace and taking his hand, pulling him through the doorway.

"Wanna dance?" he asked me, shouting over the music.

I shrugged my shoulders in response and he rolled his eyes and dragged me into the middle of the room.

To be completely honest, Percy was an awful dancer. People were laughing at him and joining in and joking around. I had never seen him have a bigger smile on his face and his laugh rang out over the music. I stood on the edge of the circle that had formed around him, clapping and giggling at each goofy thing he did. I watched as his green eyes scanned around the circle. They sparked with mischief as they met mine.

I shook my head vehemently. There was no way I would join him in the middle dancing. He jumped forward and snagged my arm before I could pull it away from his reach. I shook my head. "No, Percy pleaseee," I begged, while attempting to pull away from his strong grasp.

He looked down, smiling and spun me around so that my back was against his chest and my arms were crossed in front of my body, both my hands in his. He started swaying along to the music, moving my body with his.

"Have fun, Annabeth," he whispered into my hair, "It's your birthday for Gods' sake!" I felt him laugh and smile, before he spun me around to face him. I threw my head back and laughed. It felt good to relax a little bit. The smile he gave me was also completely worth it.

After a couple songs his bangs were completely matted to his forehead with sweat. "I'm gonna get a drink," he shouted to me as he left the dance floor.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed by when I had finally stopped dancing. I was having such a good time and I wanted to thank Percy.

I wandered around my house aimlessly looking, getting "happy birthday!" from almost everyone in my school. Literally _everybody_ had come to my party. Never in a million years would I think that Jason Grace, quarterback of the football team, would be at my house. Or with one of my friends. My brain did a double take. _Was that..?_ Piper was with Jason. _Well. Good for her,_ I thought and kept on shuffling through my house. I picked up a red cup. I brought it up to my lips and thought better of it. I wanted to remember every detail of this amazing night.

I decided to go up to my bedroom and change my outfit. I wanted to be in something more comfortable. When I made it to the stairs, I realized that Rachel had found Percy. Percy had one hand grasping the back of her neck and another clutching a cup and pushing her hips into his. Rachel had both hands on the sides of his face. They were completely locked at the mouth, oblivious to everybody and everything around them.

I took a big swig out of my cup. t

**Author's Note **

**I'm so sorry it took so long for me to update! I didn't realize how long it had been and I got this other idea for a story and I had been working on that and this part of the year just sorta got away from me. But school ends in a week and then I only have to work which is hella cuz I need money. **

**To AlphaThetaEpsilonOmega: sorry… and I decided to use latin because I thought it was a more typical class in a highschool (its also one of the three languages my school teaches so I just went with what I sorta knew) **

**Percabeth18: Im sorry it took so long but Im definitely going to start updating more! **

**Thank You Yall! **

**Zoetat**


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